"In any language, the whole world is united by a ball." --- Steve Amoia, Publisher.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Luciano Spalletti of Zenit St. Petersburg: "It's the game of our lives."

Image courtesy of UEFA.

Two Italian managers will face off in a 2012/2013 Champions League Match Day Two tie tonight from St. Petersburg, Russia. For your Champions League and2012/13 Premier League bettingneeds, please visit Paddy Power.

Massimiliano "Max" Allegri of AC Milan and Luciano Spalletti of Zenit St. Petersburg have seen their respective sides get off to slow domestic starts. Allegri and Milan have only won twice in Serie A and currently sit in 11th place in the table. Spalletti and Zenit have only two wins in their last eight games in the Russian Premier League. The St. Petersburg side is tied for 6th place in their domestic table. The pressure of Champions League football is no stranger to either man, and might in this case become a welcome respite.

Trivia: According to ESPN and the Associated Press, Mr. Allegri and Mr. Spalletti played on the same Italian Serie D (4th Division) side, Cuoiopelli, over 30 years ago. Mr. Spalletti has won 10 of his 11 European home games (with one draw) while on the Zenit bench.Mr. Allegri's Pre-Match CommentaryOn the Importance of Tonight's Game

"Tomorrow's game (Wednesday) counts more than the Milan derby. The favorites in the Champions League are Zenit and us. The group is balanced and won't be sorted until the last match day. We have to do well against a side built to win their league. Our objective tomorrow is to get the three points."

On His Team
"Ormai non mi fanno più né caldo né freddo, a me interessa solo che la
squadra giochi bene, dobbiamo avere serenità ed eliminare le
disattenzioni: abbiamo preso troppi gol su palle inattive"."Hot and cold no longer bother me. The only thing that interests me is that the team plays well. We have to have calmness and eliminate distractions. We have conceded too many goals on set pieces."

The probable formation likely will see the 4-2 creative style with the re-entry of Riccardo Montolivo from the starting whistle. The midfielder could play in front of the defensive wall with either Nigel De Jong or Massimo Ambrosini.

"I used that formation against Fiorentina. It is a quality of the team to be able to also change on the run (during the game). It will be a difficult game. We were on the rails for the first match day and a win on the road would help us. We feel more responsible because we didn't start off well, but I don't believe that I'm at risk of getting sacked. The Champions League is the ideal environment to have a great game."

"Is Milan the game of the year? Yes, it's true, because after the defeat by Malaga, if we aren't able to do well in the remaining games, it will make our road very complicated in the Champions League. The most important thing for us right now is to rediscover our confidence, capability and quality. Because we've lost a little of those. All of our strengths have to be directed to return to our levels."

"If we play to our best, we can beat anyone. Allegri? He's a manager of quality and creativity who succeeds in having confidence in his work. From a professional point of view, the similarity that we had was only on the pitch. Allegri has maintained the qualities that he had as a player. It was like this on the pitch and remains that way on the bench.Like us, our opponents are not experiencing their best moment. But I think that Milan, like Zenit, can utilize this game to bring back everything to normal and invert the situation. The result will be fundamental for both teams. This is a good opportunity to improve the situation."On His Team

"There are many things that this team can do against Milan. The recent history of Zenit isn't only framed around these games. It is something extra. If we want to return to being Zenit, we must play in a different way. My team has a strong character. And teams with a strong character are able to respond to failures. As I said to the lads before yesterday's (Monday) training session: I still don't see any team in our league that can take the place of Zenit."

Spalletti has faith in his striker, Hulk.

"He can do better. He needs to alternate more and better his offensive positions on the pitch. But despite this, the things he is doing now also deserve a little more luck. But I also like Hulk this way."

On Misunderstandings about Sergio Busquets and the Future of Igor Desinov:

Spalletti also speaks of the transfer market and of a few misunderstandings. On the future of Igor Desinov and on the desire to buy Sergio Busquets from FC Barcelona, he clarified:

"I don't believe we are interested in Busquets. I was misunderstood. I hope that in the future, Denisov is able to reason out things with more calmness and comes to give us a hand."Italian source of text: "Spalletti avisa il Milan: E' la partita dell'anno";La Gazzetta dello Sport; 2 Oct. 2012.

You will also find a review about Carlo Ancelotti's excellent book on tactics. There are excerpts from a factual novel about Gaetano Scirea along with Francesco Totti's humorous yet historical guidebook on ancient Rome.

6. Featured Review

Image credit: Nation Books.

Google Privacy & Terms

"This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services, to personalize ads and to analyze traffic. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies."